[C320-list] Shifter

[DianeFlr at aol.com]

Thanks to all who replied!  I now know more about maintenance,  too.
 
I so much appreciate everyone out there.
 
Fair winds and smooth sailing!
 
S/V  Windy City  #948 in sunny Cape Coral   
 
Captain Diane Fowler,
CRS, GRI, e-PRO
Gulf Coast  Realty Network

Cell: 239-850-4935

www.CapeCoralhomes.com  

 
In a message dated 3/1/2016 9:41:33 P.M. Eastern Standard Time,  
sail-ability at sympatico.ca writes:

My shift  cable broke during the sea trial prior to my acquiring the boat. 
The engine  had only 400hr on it and the boat had spent all of it's life to 
that point in  salt water. What had happened is that the pin connecting the 
cable to the  transmission lever had corroded solidly into the lever, 
causing the cable to  be bent up and down during each shift. This resulted in work 
hardening the  metal cable end until it eventually broke. A bit of grease 
on the pin and the  hole it passes through would've prevented this but no one 
knew at the time.I  also had the throttle cable replaced (at my cost) when 
the yard was replacing  the shifter cable (seller's cost and scary). I 
wouldn't recommend replacing  the cables as a preventative measure,  if things 
are working smoothly and  visual inspection confirms  no obvious problems; 
I've never heard of a  cable breaking within its sheath.CheersJohnM1999#574

> From:  rsulewski at bex.net
> To: C320-List at Catalina320.com
> Date: Tue, 1  Mar 2016 19:53:51 -0500
> Subject: Re: [C320-list] Shifter
>  
> Doug, 
> Could you please explain exactly where the shift cable  broke or snapped 
and
> what you believe was the root cause?  Thanks.
> 
> For others who suffered cable failures, should one  surmise that most of 
the
> throttle or shift cable failures are  occurring on saltwater boats? Any
> freshwater failures? So far, I have  not seen evidence of wear on my 
throttle
> or shift cables and am  wondering if after 20 seasons and 1,300 hours if 
the
> cables should be  replaced as a preventative measure because a cable 
failure
> is  imminent.  Any thoughts? 
> 
> FYI/DIY Item: Last spring I  replaced the pedestal shift lever's 1"white
> Delrin liner.  The  shift lever became increasingly sloppy over time and
> required  increased force to move the move lever in and out of gear.  The
>  worn liner also accumulated grit accelerating liner wear. Initially I  
feared
> that I was having a shift cable problem before I figured out  what was
> causing the sloppy shifter. As a result of the (liner)  bushing wear, the
> shift lever's shaft was also occasionally contacting  some metal hardware
> just inside the pedestal creating a  grinding/scrapping feel whenever the
> lever was moved. After the  replacement liner was installed, the shift 
lever
> was restored to be as  firm and work as smoothly as when it was new. A
> replacement Delrin  liner (bushing) is available from Edson.    
> 
> Rick  Sulewski
> My-Ria
> 95' C320 hull #277
> 
> 
>  -----Original Message-----
> From: C320-list  [mailto:c320-list-bounces at lists.catalina320.com] On 
Behalf
> Of Doug  Treff
> Sent: Tuesday, March 01, 2016 1:50 PM
> To:  C320-List at catalina320.com
> Subject: Re: [C320-list] Shifter
>  
>  
> 
> Diane, 
> 
> Definitely address  the issues by lubricating the linkages on both ends of
> the cable.  These cables are not meant to have lube added internally 
inside
> the  jacketing because they are meant to be sealed assemblies. If lubing  
the
> linkages does not remedy the issue it may be time to replace the  cable, 
as
> JJ pointed out. 
> 
> JJ is also correct that  the shift cable replacement is not easy - and it
> will be expensive if  you hire someone to do the job. However I was able 
to
> replace my own  cable, and it cost me only for the part which was less 
than
> $50 but it  took the better part of a week of my time in the evenings and 
a
> LOT of  sweat and crawling around the aft cabin. The hardest part of the
> whole  job was the connection in the pedestal. It is not a one person job
>  because you will need someone below and above when doing the pedestal
>  connections. I found the following web page very helpful even though it  
was
> not a Catalina.Obviously the lengths he referenced are incorrect,  but the
> article is still useful. Catalina Direct recommends 12 or 14  foot cables 
for
> our Catalina 320's. Yours should be marked as in the  article to figure 
out
> what length to buy. 
> 
>  
http://spartina.blogspot.com/2009/05/replacing-throttle-and-shift-cables.htm
>  l
> 
> 
> Lesson learned here is the following. When I  bought the boat in 2012, the
> engine survey revealed a need to replace  the THROTTLE cable because the
> jacket had been allowed to melt against  the exhaust. Of course that's 
all we
> replaced because there was no  indication of the shift cable being a 
problem.
> Fast forward one year,  and the shift cable snapped while I was in reverse
> backing into my  slip. Looking back on that, the cost of having BOTH 
cables
> replaced in  2012 would have only been increased by the cost of the parts
> since all  the same areas need to be accessed to replace the cables. 
> 
>  All that being said, if it is determined that the shift cable needs to  
be
> replaced, and your shift cable is of unknown vintage, go ahead and  have 
the
> throttle cable done at the same time as a preventive measure  and peace of
> mind. Your call - do the job twice when the other cable  fails, or do it 
once
> for an extra ~$50. 
> 
> Last, yours  has not failed yet - good on you for noticing that it needs
> attention.  Better to replace it proactively rather than finding out the 
hard
> way  like I did - while backing into my slip. 
> 
> My $0.02 
>  
> ---
> Doug Treff
> Catalina 320 - 1996 - September Song -  #350 
http://savvysailor.blogspot.com/
> doug at treff.us
> 
>  On 2016-03-01 12:24, JJ Morrison wrote: 
> 
> > Look at where  the shifter cable attaches to the shifting lever on the 
> >  transmission. Mine was corroded there and the shifter cable eventually
>  broke off because the pin could not rotate, necessitating a shifter  
cable
> replacement, not easy or cheap! The linkage at the transmission  should be
> lubricated at least once a year with white grease to  facilitate shifting 
and
> prevent corrosion. Also at the binnacle end  where the shifter cable 
attaches
> to the shifting lever should be  lubricated once a year. If those two 
points
> seem to be in good nick  then the shifter cable should be detached from 
the
> transmission lever  and the shifter lever moved back and forth. the cable
> should move  easily when this is done. If it is stiff to move it probably
> means a  shifter cable replacement due to wear or corrosion. The 
attachment
>  ends of the throttle cable should be lubricated there as
>  well.cheersJohnM1999#574
>  
> 
=